Alec Baldwin behaved in a 'reckless manner' with guns, prosecutor claims

The prosecutor in Alec Baldwin's involuntary manslaughter trial says the actor behaved in a 'reckless manner', failing to pay attention to mandatory gun safety sessions, and repeatedly cocking and pointing a gun at others on set.

Alec Baldwin was accused of violating basic gun safety rules and playing "make-believe" with a deadly weapon, as the Hollywood star's trial for involuntary manslaughter over a fatal shooting on the set of Western movie "Rust" began Wednesday.

Baldwin was holding a prop revolver during a fateful rehearsal in October 2021 when it fired a live round, killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounding the movie's director.

In opening statements in a court in Santa Fe, New Mexico, prosecutor Erlinda Ocampo Johnson painted a picture of a powerful movie star who behaved in "a reckless manner" and "without due regard for the safety of others" on set.

She said Baldwin had "requested to be assigned the biggest gun available" for the "Rust" scene, had failed to take a weapons training session seriously, and regularly cocked and pointed firearms at people on set.

Baldwin played "make-believe with a real gun and violated the cardinal rules of firearm safety," Johnson told the jury.

Movie set safety rules require actors "to treat every firearm as though it's loaded, to never point a firearm at another person, and to never put your finger on the trigger unless you're prepared to shoot," she added.

'Gunfights in movies'

(AFP)

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